Field
Embodiments described herein generally relate to a processing chamber, and more specifically, to a method, system, and computer program product for monitoring a service life of a chamber component.
Description of the Related Art
In semiconductor processing chambers, substrates undergo various processes such as deposition, etching and annealing. During some of the processes, the substrate is placed onto a substrate support such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC), for processing. In an etch process a ring may be placed around the substrate to prevent erosion of the areas of the substrate support that are not covered by the substrate. The ring focuses the plasma and positions the substrate in place.
Rings are usually made of quartz or silicon based material and are highly consumed in the etch process as they are exposed to etching gases and/or fluids. The rings are etched by the plasma during wafer processing and eventually begin to erode. The erosion of the rings leads to process drift after sufficient material removed from the ring changes the profile of the processing plasma along the edge of substrate. The process drift ultimately leads to defects on the substrates. The rings that are significantly eroded are usually replaced to ensure process conformity and prevent the manufacturing defects from affecting processing yields. However, replacing the rings requires the manufacturing process equipment to be shutdown, which is expensive. There is a tradeoff of between shutting down the manufacturing process to replace the rings prior to generating defects and significantly reducing the service life of the ring and lowering manufacturing yields.
Therefore, an improved method and apparatus are needed for monitoring a service life of a chamber component.